WORD OF THE DAY® for Hedge Funds – 10b5-1 Plan
On June 23, 2025, U.S. District Judge Dale S. Fischer of the Central District of California sentenced a former Chairman and CEO of a behavioral healthcare company to 42 months in federal prison. This conviction represents the...more
Here’s the deal: • A Rule 10b5‐1 plan is a written securities trading plan that is designed to comply with Rule 10b5‐1(c) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”)....more
The weather may be cooling down, but the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) did not cool down its pace of rulemaking during the third quarter of 2023. The SEC adopted its highly anticipated cybersecurity disclosure...more
As discussed in our prior publication (found here), the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) adopted amendments on December 14, 2022, regarding Rule 10b5-1 insider trading plans and related disclosures. On May 25, 2023,...more
On December 14th, 2022, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) adopted a series of amendments to Rule 10b5-1 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. In sum, the amendments accomplish the following...more
[This post revises and updates my earlier post primarily to provide a more detailed discussion of the contents of the adopting release.] - At an open meeting in December last year—happy new year!—the SEC voted to adopt...more
In December 2022, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) adopted amendments to Exchange Act Rule 10b5-1, the rule that provides an affirmative defense to claims of insider trading for persons acquiring or disposing of...more
On December 14, 2022, the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “Commission”) adopted amendments bolstering the conditions to be met in order for a person to rely on the affirmative defense from insider trading available...more
The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on December 14, 2022, finalized amendments to Rule 10b5-1 that will both amend the Rule 10b5-1(c)(1) affirmative defense to insider trading liability and create new disclosure...more
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), in a rare unanimous vote, adopted amendments to Rule 10b5-1 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (Exchange Act) and new disclosure requirements to enhance investor...more
On December 14, the SEC adopted long-awaited amendments to Rule 10b5-1 under the Exchange Act that add new conditions for a trading arrangement to qualify for the rule’s affirmative defense against Rule 10b-5 liability for...more
On December 14, 2022, the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) adopted new rules (i) implementing additional conditions for insiders to rely on the affirmative defense for Rule 10b5-1 trading plans (“10b5-1 plans”)...more
On December 14, 2022, the SEC adopted final rules amending Rule 10b5-1, the safe harbor that allows directors, executive officers and others, including issuers, to engage in securities transactions while in possession of...more
On Dec. 14, 2022, the SEC voted to adopt amendments to Rule 10b5-1 and to enhance disclosure requirements, in an attempt to establish meaningful guardrails around the use of Rule 10b5-1 trading plans and strengthen...more
We here at SECond Opinions pride ourselves on staying current on all things SEC. But how about when in a single day, the SEC finalizes one rule and proposes four others (totaling 1,656 pages!) that could drastically change...more
The Proposal would have a significant impact on current practices surrounding the use of Rule 10b5-1 plans by public companies and insiders. On December 15, 2021, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) issued a set...more
On December 15, 2021 the SEC unveiled its long-awaited proposal to amend the requirements for securities trading arrangements adopted in reliance on Rule 10b5-1 under the Exchange Act. The proposed amendments would add new...more
Major changes may be on the horizon for "Rule 10b5-1" plans, which allow company insiders to sell their company's stock (often an important piece of an employee's compensation package) or (2) an issuer to repurchase its...more
The Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC or Commission) actions in 2021 demonstrate that insider trading remains a key enforcement priority. While the absolute number of insider trading enforcement actions brought by the...more
The US Securities and Exchange Commission has proposed amendments to its rules regarding disclosure about issuer repurchases of its equity securities, often referred to as buybacks, including a new proposed Form SR to be...more
On December 15, 2021, the SEC proposed significant changes to the requirements for Rule 10b5-1 trading plans. The SEC attributed the proposals to concerns expressed by courts, commentators and members of Congress that...more
On December 15, 2021, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the SEC) proposed amendments to the affirmative defense in Rule 10b5-1(c) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), and...more
Recent warnings from the US Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") and the US Congress could translate into more aggressive scrutiny of trading plans adopted pursuant to Rule 10b5-1 of the Securities and Exchange Act of...more
Chairman Gensler's comments indicate that new, additional requirements for 10b5-1 plans are likely to be coming. In prepared comments made at The Wall Street Journal's CFO Network event on June 7, 2021, SEC Chairman Gary...more